2023/2024 NHL/WILD Offseason-Season-Postseason Thread

Why Hunt hasn’t been in for Merrill all along the past 10 games boggles the mind…

Betcha Flower is thrilled that’s over with. What a legend! Good for him! Fun to watch him in a wild sweater.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Why Hunt hasn’t been in for Merrill all along the past 10 games boggles the mind…

Baffling!

Both Merrill and Goligoski are the sixth defenseman, at best. I don’t know why you would ever play them both in the same game. I liked the version last night where neither one of them played.

Mermis and Hunt are both more consistent.

Good or bad I think Goose being out yesterday is just part of their maintenance plan for him, i’d bet he’s back in the lineup next game…

You can see the potential in Hunt’s game though, he just needs more minutes at the NHL level, I’d play him over Mermis right now, but I think they’ll just rotate him, Hunt and Merrill as the 6th Defenseman the rest of the season. I think they’ll announce soon that Spurgeon is done for the season….

What is Spurgeon’s injury even? This is very concerning, he came back for what 1 game and didnt even play the whole game and has been out since.

CaptainMusky wrote:

What is Spurgeon’s injury even? This is very concerning, he came back for what 1 game and didnt even play the whole game and has been out since.

if I were to guess, I think it’s either a knee ligament or hip related…didn’t he get smoked into the boards in game 1, left the game but came back, then left early in the next game? My guess is that’s where the injury happened and then got progressively worse as he repeatedly tried to come back into the lineup without it being completely healed…

I picked a good chunk of games to miss but holy sh!t 6-0 to the Yotes?!?!

The Yotes are no pushover anymore. But yes, that was an ugly game.

CaptainMusky wrote:

What is Spurgeon’s injury even? This is very concerning, he came back for what 1 game and didnt even play the whole game and has been out since.

He has a case of Toosmallitis. Been an issue for him his whole career but it is finally catching up to him

wormdunker wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>CaptainMusky wrote:</div>
What is Spurgeon’s injury even? This is very concerning, he came back for what 1 game and didnt even play the whole game and has been out since.

He has a case of Toosmallitis. Been an issue for him his whole career but it is finally catching up to him

He played in 79 games last year, but got beat up in the playoffs, this season has been a disaster and we HOPE is not a sign of things to come as he gets older (he turns 35 next season with 3 more seasons on his deal) years prior he’s been mostly healthy with a couple of seasons playing mostly every game and then several with minor injuries that kept him out 10-15 games or so…

My big issue with Spurgeon is that he disappears in the playoffs, now is that related to his play style? his body breaking down in the final month of the regular season & playoffs when the physicality is turned up a couple of notches? I think both play a part in it…

I’ve posted the data before, but it always seems like the teams that succeed in the playoffs have horses on their bluelines. The smaller framed players just don’t hold up physically or can’t play through it, player height is part of it (most are over 6′ tall) but weight (200+ lbs) seems to be the biggest factor so the thinking is their bodies can just take more of the physical beating we see in playoff hockey… there will always be a few exceptions to that thinking, but I think alot of luck plays into the smaller defender’s survival…

I could put a Wild 46 jersey on a Dora back pack, put the back pack on have a great Halloween costume. My costume would be called, “Jerod Spurgeon in the Playoffs”.

I like Spurgeon, but his size has always been a question mark in the playoffs. When he’s been on the ice this year he looks off. He’s a smart, talented defender with a great hockey iq. It’s what got him to the pros and kept him there. His leadership style suffers in the playoffs,just like MK’s did. Both solid, defense first players. But Faber is a captain front and center. Way more vocal on the ice and way more competitive. He wants to not just play pro hockey, he wants to win. At some point Spurgeon will be a 3rd pairing and needs to accept the C needs to be given to Faber. Really don’t ever see KK as a captain. Even in the bad stretches Faber, Rossi and Ek are the only ones who seem to care. Brodin is Brodin. Let him do what he does and don’t involve him in the leadership roles. Other than let his actions speak for themselves. It was like having the quiet dad back in the room last night on the ice. If this team is looking for an identity or non flashy mvp on the ice, it’s Brodin. The team just feels different with him on the ice and it is. The stupid odd man rushes that were plaguing this team magically went away last night. With Faber, Middleton, Brodin and even the rest of the guys on the ice last night, no chance Spurgeon deserves to be on the pp. The little opportunity Hunt has played on the second pp unit, I want to see him given more opportunity in a year the playoffs are a pipe dream. Mermis and Bogosian have both been solid. Yeah they aren’t great, but they aren’t terrible either. Bogosian doesn’t like letting players squat in front of our goalies like Spurgeon does. Personally like that a lot. Spurgeon doesn’t have a huge offensive up side, but could with a better defender to be paired with. Be nice to have both Faber and Spurgeon on separate pairings and able to pinch more offensively.

Will be interesting to actually see whats wrong with Spurgeon and if he needs surgery and on what. Still a good player, just could be utilized differently to benefit the team.

If Spurg is on your third pair D the Wild are screwed. No team in the NHL can afford 7.5 million on their third pair.

Faber and Brodin will get top pairing moving forward (they kind of were when the season started) Spurgeon will play 2nd pair with a larger sized D partner the rest of his Wild career (I don’t see them extending him at all). Hopefully in 3 years when his contract is up, the current Iowa Wild guys (or maybe a top 10 drafted Defenseman this summer if they go that route) will have filled in spots around Faber and Brodin (who they’ll need to decide on extending the following year)

Middleton extension will be interesting in 2 years…we all love him and he’s shown a bit more offense this year, but his defense has been suspect quite alot this season, perhaps he’s been exposed a bit with Spurgeon no longer covering for him?

Middleton is a chameleon, he’s as good as whoever he’s playing with. Put him with Spurgeon or Faber and he’s a top 4 D. Put him with Merrill or Mermis and he’s a borderline NHLer.

Everyone sure is ready to sh!t on Spurgeon during a season where it’s painfully obvious how bad this team misses him.

Agree.

Spurgeon disappearing. Yep, that’s the only thing standing between the Wild and a deep playoff run.

It was great to be there yesterday to see MAF pass Roy for #2 on the all time wins list. From the 2nd period onward everybody was talking about how cool it would be if he got a shutout for this big win.

Such a class act, it’s great to see MN fans appreciate him even though he’s not a long-time Wild player.

Not sure how mentioning Spurgeon disappears in the playoffs equates to the sole reason the Wild cant get out of the first round? We can certainly add Boldy and the rest of the offense mostly disappearing, our special teams disappearing and being out coached as big contributors and our #1 D getting exposed certainly doesn’t help…

Spurgeon is a great regular season defenseman, his game just doesn’t work well in the playoffs… now his age is becoming worrisome for injuries to start creeping in… We cant do anything about it for 3.5 seasons so we hope for the best…

You mean 3.5 seasons. He has 3 more seasons after this one.

I bet Faber or Spurgeon wouldn’t look too good with Mermis or Merrill either…..There’s only so much you can cover up.

normally I’m all for trade rumors, but the rumors around the Wild looking to possibly trade Erickson Ek are just stupid… The guy probably has the best long term contract in the league…

Russo already put that rumor to bed.

They would have to get an absolute haul to trade him. That would be a major setback to this team.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

January 17, 2024 at 10:03 am#2248131
normally I’m all for trade rumors, but the rumors around the Wild looking to possibly trade Erickson Ek are just stupid…

Who comes up with this cr@p? A team that’s been starved for quality centers basically forever is going to trade its best quality center? Only trading Kaprizov would be more unlikely, but not by much.

JoeMX1825 wrote:

Not sure how mentioning Spurgeon disappears in the playoffs equates to the sole reason the Wild cant get out of the first round?

Your sarcasm detector must be frozen. Obviously. the Wild’s issues in the payoffs are way more involved than just Spurgeon not showing up. Play the best defense you want, you can’t win a playoff game 0 to 0. We need more and better of everything.

Their last 2 post seasons can be summed up by failed special teams. IF they had just adequate PP/PK they likely beat the Blues and could have possibly gotten past the Stars.

This team needs a number one center, and has for a long time. That one position would go a long way to help with everything.

Spurgeon is a very good regular season defender. His size and style are just problematic in the post season. Nothing against him, just factual.

Trading Ek, you’d have to get so much for him, no team would be willing to give up that much.

After MK and Spurgeon as captains, I’d personally like to see a captain with a little more fire and someone who shows he cares. Plus is way more vocal on and off the ice. Faber has shown so much of that on the ice. From directing traffic and some emotions when things really go sideways, he seems to care way more than Spurgeon ever shows. I’m sure Spurgeon cares, but at times he’s a bit of a dead fish. KK isn’t captain material and that’s perfectly fine. Let him do what he does best and don’t burden him with it. Same with Brodin.

I want to see more of Hunt and a few younger guys in the lineup more. How they go about achieving that with the cap stuff is lost on me. But Hunt has looked more and more promising on NHL ice.

it would sure be nice to see Rossi break out of his mini slump (0 points and -6 in his last 5 games) and have a multi-point game tonight, the kid has had chances but just can’t bury it lately…

The next 10 games are when Rossi and Faber need to push through the “rookie wall”

basseyes wrote:

This team needs a number one center, and has for a long time. That one position would go a long way to help with everything.

We’re either going to need to get very lucky and draft one very high in the draft (this year is likely our best chance at that) or get insanely lucky and draft one later in the round…The dream of just getting one via free agency are over as it will take all of our cap just to re-sign our own guys the next 2-3 years…

Rossi has shown some potential at 1C (he’s a great puck distributor and thinks offense first) something rare for a Wild center, but he obviously needs more seat time with Kirill…

There could be a potential to trade for a top young center in the next 1-2 years as Anahiem are absolutely stacked at centers and can’t play them all. All are under 22 years old with Zegras, McTavish, Carlsson and Gauthier, they will either move one (Gauthier) or two to wing or trade one of them (likely Zegras)…It won’t be cheap though and will likely cost your top Wing prospect and a high draft pick. Would Danila Yurov and a pick be enough? Would we even want Zegras?

JoeMX1825 wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>basseyes wrote:</div>
This team needs a number one center, and has for a long time. That one position would go a long way to help with everything.

We’re either going to need to get very lucky and draft one very high in the draft (this year is likely our best chance at that) or get insanely lucky and draft one later in the round…The dream of just getting one via free agency are over as it will take all of our cap just to re-sign our own guys the next 2-3 years…

Rossi has shown some potential at 1C (he’s a great puck distributor and thinks offense first) something rare for a Wild center, but he obviously needs more seat time with Kirill…

There could be a potential to trade for a top young center in the next 1-2 years as Anahiem are absolutely stacked at centers and can’t play them all. All are under 22 years old with Zegras, McTavish, Carlsson and Gauthier, they will either move one (Gauthier) or two to wing or trade one of them (likely Zegras)…It won’t be cheap though and will likely cost your top Wing prospect and a high draft pick. Would Danila Yurov and a pick be enough? Would we even want Zegras?

Well this song sure has changed.